Block mined with 1 Transaction allowed !!!

[BitCoinDream]

I just found that till date 84453 blocks have been mined with 1 transaction. This single transaction is actually coinbase transaction and hence these blocks did not include any transaction at all !!! Then why did the rest of the network accept it ? If I continue mining this kind of a block then I'll get 25 BTC in every 10 minutes. Is it a flaw ?

Source: http://blockr.io/trivia/block

[silvestar]

I just found that till date 84453 blocks have been mined with 1 transaction.

Most of the early blocks are with 1 transaction.
At that times very few people were in bitcoin world, and there were very very few transactions.

Those new blocks with 1 transaction are usually found just seconds after the previous blocks.

[silvestar]

If I continue mining this kind of a block then I'll get 25 BTC in every 10 minutes. Is it a flaw ?

The probability of finding a block is not higher with smaller block size (less transaction included), though the propagation may be marginally faster.

[CIYAM]

I happened before (when we had 50 BTC block rewards) but died down.

I wouldn't lose sleep over it - the *fees* are becoming *more important* making it *less attractive* to just grab the coinbase amount (quite possibly it is a "botnet" as was assumed to be the case when it occurred previously).

[BitCoinDream]

If I continue mining this kind of a block then I'll get 25 BTC in every 10 minutes. Is it a flaw ?

The probability of finding a block is not higher with smaller block size (less transaction included), though the propagation may be marginally faster.

What I understand, mining is solving the transactions with SHA-256. So if I dont have to include any new Tx, wont it be much more easier for me to mine ? (Please correct me if my understanding of mining is wrong.)

[CIYAM]

What I understand, mining is solving the transactions with SHA-256. So if I dont have to include any new Tx, wont it be much more easier for me to mine ? (Please correct me if my understanding of mining is wrong.)

Sure it is *easier* to just do the "coinbase" *but* you miss out on all the tx fees.

[BitCoinDream]

I happened before (when we had 50 BTC block rewards) but died down.

I wouldn't lose sleep over it - the *fees* are becoming *more important* making it *less attractive* to just grab the coinbase amount (quite possibly it is a "botnet" as was assumed to be the case when it occurred previously).

I think it is still happening and those who have been able to set up their miners properly are getting advantage of it. A few hours ago this figure was 84452 and now it is 84453. I guess zero Tx blocks are being mined everyday and if a solo miner gets 25 BTC per day, he does not need the share of Tx fees...

[CIYAM]

I think it is still happening and those who have been able to set up their miners properly are getting advantage of it. A few hours ago this figure was 84452 and now it is 84453. I guess zero Tx blocks are being mined everyday and if a solo miner gets 25 BTC per day, he does not need the share of Tx fees...

It *has* happened before and it *will* happen again but once more - if you look at the history of Bitcoin it is not something to worry about.

[100bitcoin]

I think it is technically possible to create a miner that will mine zero tx blocks only. This is dangerous for the network.

[CIYAM]

I think it is technically possible to create a miner that will mine zero tx blocks only. This is dangerous for the network.

Again - *it has already been done before* and guess what?

The Bitcoin network is still alive despite that!

[100bitcoin]

I think it is technically possible to create a miner that will mine zero tx blocks only. This is dangerous for the network.

Again - *it has already been done before* and guess what?

The Bitcoin network is still alive despite that!

I dont think there is any reason for the bitcoin network to be technically affected by it. It would actually give undue advantage to some miners, especially if solo mining of zero tx blocks are possible with smaller hash power.

[CIYAM]

I dont think there is any reason for the bitcoin network to be technically affected by it. It would actually give undue advantage to some miners, especially if solo mining of zero tx blocks are possible with smaller hash power.

So you need to do more *research* as there is no such *advantage* (the cost of including the txs is trivial compared to the reward from the fees) - the only reason that this is happening would be due to botnets who are not likely to ever get *much of a majority*.

[cp1]

The block is the same difficulty.  It doesn't really matter how many transactions you have in it.

[Foxpup]

What I understand, mining is solving the transactions with SHA-256. So if I dont have to include any new Tx, wont it be much more easier for me to mine ? (Please correct me if my understanding of mining is wrong.)

No, miners hash the block header, which is the same size regardless of the number of transactions. Pool miners don't necessarily even see what transactions are in the block they're mining. However, when a block is solved, the entire block (header + transactions) must be transmitted, so that other nodes can verify that the header is actually valid. Blocks with more transactions take longer to transmit, which increases the risk of the block being orphaned (another miner solves the block at the same time, and his block reaches the rest of the network first). The purpose of transaction fees is to pay for (among other costs) the revenue lost to orphan blocks, thereby removing the incentive to drop transactions on that basis.